Johanna Hagström was clearly the fastest in the qualifiers for the freestyle sprint in Toblach, which begins this season's Tour de Ski, finishing a full two seconds ahead of second-place Coletta Rydzek of Germany.
Finland's Jasmi Joensuu, American Jessie Diggins and Norway's Mathilde Myrvold followed closely behind the top duo.
Moa Lundgren (6th), Moa Ilar (16th) and Maja Dahlqvist (17th) also made it through to the afternoon's final session without any problems. For Emma Ribom it was a nervous wait, but she too (26th) is through to the quarterfinals.
No Sleepwalking
The other Swedes fared worse. Both Ebba Andersson and Frida Karlsson are hoping for strong positions in the overall Tour de Ski standings, but the Swedish star duo had a tough start to the tour. Neither of them came close to advancing.
Märta Rosenberg, Lisa Eriksson and Evelina Crüsell also failed to make the top 30.
Of the top Swedish skiers, both Jonna Sundling and Linn Svahn are missing from the tour. Sundling is focusing on training for the Olympics in February while Svahn is sidelined by injury.
Just Making It Through
On the men's side, only one Swede advanced to the quarterfinals and unsurprisingly it was Edvin Anger. The 23-year-old was just under four seconds behind qualifying winner Johannes Høsflot Klæbo of Norway.
Shooting star Alvar Myhlback has his strengths primarily in classic technique but still was the second-best Swede, about two seconds short of advancing.
Anton Grahn, Gustaf Berglund, Truls Gisselman, William Poromaa, Johan Ekberg, Eric Rosjö and Jonas Eriksson were the other eliminated Swedes.
The final session starts at 2:15 p.m.
